Board of Directors

Board of Directors

Dr. John Sullivan - President

Virginia - Served since 2011

John is the founder of the FCT Foundation. He formed the Foundation to provide a not-for-profit platform for the FCT Model. His goal is to eliminate the need for out of home placements for children while strengthening families of all types. The Foundation’s goal is to make FCT services available on a wide scale by offering a most cost effective and progressive evidence based model.

John guided a team of dedicated and gifted therapists over a 20 year period while working as the co-founder of the Institute for Family Centered Services (1988 to 2013). The result was the development of a unique practice based model that became Family Centered Treatment. His past “front line” experiences were the foundation to this model. Prior to co-founding the Institute he served as a nursing assistant, live in house parent, peer group therapist, residential treatment program director and national consultant. In all positions he always paid constant attention to the point of service delivery. While accepted theories and research support the FCT model, John acknowledges families, practitioners and stakeholders as the ones responsible for the model’s relevance , applicability and evolution.

Dr. Mike Lancaster

North Carolina - Served since 2011

Michael Lancaster, M.D. currently serves as the Director of Mental Health Programs for North Carolina Community Care Network, Inc. His direct responsibility is to implement the Mental Health Initiative which supports the integration of behavioral health care with the primary care clinical homes throughout the state of North Carolina. He is the lead mental health champion who advocates for the implementation of evidence-based practices for integrated care in primary care settings across the CCNC program. Dr. Lancaster has maintained a part-time private practice as a board certified adult and child and adolescent psychiatrist in Raleigh, NC. His history of professional work experiences range from being employed as the Clinical Director of Child and Adolescent Services of Holly Hill Hospital -- a private psychiatric hospital -- regional medical director of the MBHO Value Options in North Carolina, and most recently as Chief of Clinical Policy for the Division of Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities/Substance Abuse Services in North Carolina.

Jody Lagioia

Virginia - Served since 2011

Jody Lagioia joined the board in 2011. She brings a range of ideas and perspective from her work as a volunteer with cultural and educational organizations in the U.S. and Europe. Ms. Lagioia worked for 15 years with the US Department of Agriculture, focusing on IT Systems Security and project management. During her tenure with the Department of Agriculture, Ms. Lagioia served as the liaison between her Agency and the Department, managing inter-departmental negotiations on IT contracting. She was part of a large nation-wide office computer system installation and specialized in end-user training and development of software user manuals. During her time living in Europe and since her return to the US she has focused on communications and marketing activities for non-profit organizations.

Hazel de Burgh

Ontario, Canada - Served since 2014

Hazel joined the board in 2018 after serving for 4 years as a volunteer advisor to the FCTF. Hazel is a CPA from Canada with accreditation as a Certified Compliance & Ethics Professional, a Specialist in Investigative & Forensic Accounting, a Certified Fraud Examiner and a Fellow in Board Governance. Passionate about helping organizations to do the right thing, she has over 30 years of senior management/consulting experience, initially as a forensic accountant in Canada and the UK, then as Corporate Chief Compliance Officer for Marsh & McLennan Companies. Her career highlights include overseeing the reforms required by the LAPD, instilling a culture of transparency and accountability in a Fortune 500 multi-national and improving the investigative processes of a telecoms company that violated US/Dutch anti-corruption laws in Eurasia.

Hazel’s volunteer work includes serving on the Board of Outward Bound Canada, coaching car enthusiasts on race tracks, and teaching youth with cognitive challenges to downhill ski.

Robert Essink

Maryland - Served since 2018

Bob is a senior executive who has held business development, strategic decision-making, sales, marketing and operational leadership roles with for-profit and non-profit corporations. He has extensive experience in education, healthcare, and non-profit sectors with the majority of his leadership focused on achieving growth and revenue expectations.

During his career, he has held leadership positions with Kaiser Permanente and Accelerated Learning Solutions. With Kaiser Permanente, he served as the chief marketing officer in the Southern California and Central East Divisions and developed a value proposition that positioned these divisions as market leaders. Most recently, as President of Accelerated Learning Solutions, he secured regulatory approval for the establishment and management of multiple charter schools serving at-risk students with compelling missions, support services and instructional models.

He is also a board member of The Treatment and Learning Center in Rockville, MD., a non-profit school and social services agency for special needs students and Action in Montgomery (AIM), an Industrial Areas Foundation affiliate in Montgomery County, Maryland.

Non-voting Members

Tim Wood, LPC

Executive Director FCT Foundation

North Carolina - Served since 2010

Tim joined FCTF in 2010, bringing 12 years of experience as a provider, trainer and supervisor of mental health, developmental disability and traumatic brain injury services. Tim received his graduate degree in Rehabilitation Studies from East Carolina University. As a Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified Rehabilitation Counselor, Tim has helped develop and implement training curricula for family preservation practice, system of care coordination, utilization review and staff competency and development.